Potawatomi History | Tribal Histories

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Published 2020-10-13
At Devil's Lake, elders Jim Thunder and Mike Alloway, Sr. share the oral tradition of the Potawatomi people. At a time when their language and customs are in danger of extinction, find out what these elders are doing to preserve their culture for generations to come.

Watch the full Tribal Histories series online and on the PBS app on your phone, tablet, Roku, other streaming devices and Smart TVs now: pbswisconsin.org/watch/tribal-histories/

All Comments (21)
  • @lilspiceboi69
    somebody needa teach these men how to get their language in an online language course so even if the last fluent speakers pass their language can still be preserved mannnnnn
  • I am Potawatomi, and I live in Oklahoma. I've always been ashamed because I don't know more of my tribes history. I'd like to learn more. I look like a total white person, but I still feel a connection to my tribe. And I want the knowledge and history to survive.
  • @peterowl8144
    I am from the gniw, ginew dodem. My ancestor that moved to Ontario was gokoko, we say kokoko in Ojibway. But my family is Pottawatomie. My dad is fluent, but we migrated into the Ojibway commmunity, I estimate in the 1830-1850
  • @BozhoCuz
    I Ke'de' bulmer, will learn the language of my ancestors, as a forest county Potawatomi I promise to keep the tradition ways alive
  • I’m a Michigan native and I always enjoyed going to see the colonial museums and Indian museums. I grew up as a young boy in Europe and studying history fascinated me. I’m a bit of purist and hate seeing good clean lands overrun with houses and commercial industry
  • @DB-ne7ki
    My ex is deceased. I am here in his honor. He was a warrior and a protector.
  • @dickybirdsnest
    I really enjoyed this. My family name is Ritchie. My dad's family lived on the reservation, he was raised there. I just became an elder myself this past summer.
  • It is important for the children to understand that they are the keepers of our culture. The more traditions and stories that they keep alive is what will preserve our ways of life. Language, History, and our ways of life must not die.
  • @jeannekeys4159
    I just learned today I'm potawatomi and i think you for this information.
  • @user-dg2ny2vn1l
    I am a potawatomi from Sault Ste Marie. I would love to learn more history and meet some cousins
  • Thanks you for sharing this.Part of ancestors were Potawatomi native American.thank you Maureen
  • @danletras
    Excellent. By hearing the the stories and history from the tribal members, you can really learn so much.
  • @miriam4091
    Very nice! I can sense a real peace and calm in this community.
  • @moderngraffics
    super interesting, im from michigan and doing researching and hopeing to visit all the areas and know the history and honor them. when i was a child at a cub scout rally a native american had some fun while he danced around me while i was suppose to pick up this feather and he kept sweeping it out from under me i was embarrassed and it taught me fun in humility.
  • I am a Potawatomi fierce fighter descendent from the New York area who’s tribe got pushed out in Canada and brought into the Ojibway tribe
  • @mravalik
    I live in Michigan, and through some research I’ve seen that Potawatomi was one of the dominant tribes (correct me if I’m wrong), through southern Michigan, and I look all around me thinking what this place looked like before industry took over. Additionally, with the weather, it can be unbearably humid and hot, which I cannot stand anymore and I was curious as to how the indigenous tribes handled the unpredictable Michigan weather.
  • Schools aren’t teaching good history period. I thrived on history! Loved history class
  • @asherjayne5418
    Thank you. I found out I am Potawatomi and this was a very informative video
  • @gailboyd2076
    Oh wow. My great grandmother was Potawatomi What I had been told is her family had been from Michigan area and had been taken to Kansas. Her parents ran away back to their home area. I know her parents got some illness and died, leaving her a very young orphan. She was adopted by a family and raised inKalamazoo area.